发展经济学是一门专门研究落后国家经济发展的学问,因此发展经济学有时也称发展中国家经济学。该学科产生于20世纪40年代末,形成和繁荣于50、60年代,在半个多世纪中,发展经济学的发展经历了三个阶段:20世纪40～60年代是结构主义思路占统治地位时期,60～80年代为新古典主义思路复兴时期,80年代以后为新制度主义时期。 Developmental economics is a specialized study of the economic development of underdeveloped countries, so developmental economics is sometimes referred to as the economics of developing countries. The discipline originated in the late 1940s, formed and prospered in the 1950s and 1960s, and in more than half a century the development of development economics went through three stages: from the 1940s to the 1960s, structuralist ideas dominates Period, 60 to 80 years for the neoclassical ideas revival period, 80 years after the new institutionalism period.